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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 G. POWELL.

SEGURING HEADS 0F cAsKs, DRUMS, Gas. No. 532,248. Patented Jan. 8,'1895.

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G. POWELL. SEOURING HEADS 0F GASKS, DRUMS, m.

No. 532,248. Patented Jan. 8, 1895.

Emnnui M .61

UNITED STATES GEORGE POWELL, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

PATENT OFFICE.

SECURING HEADS OF CASKS, DRUMS, 800.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 532,248, dated January8, 1895. Application filed Iehruary20,1894=. Serial No. 0 13Z8- (N0mOdHL To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE POWELL, a subject of the Queen of England,residing at Homerton, London, Middlesex, England, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in or Relating to Securing the Heads ofCasks, Drums, and the Like, of which the following is a specification.This invention relates to the means employed for securing the head of acask, drum or similar vessel. This is now usually effected in the caseof casks by removing some of the hoops and allowing the staves toexpand, inserting the head and replacing the hoops, or in the case ofdrums by flanging the end or cover, placing it in or upon the drum andsecuring it by rivets or the like.

In carrying out my invention I prefer to proceed as follows:

I provide the cask, drum or other vessel, with an annular recess orgroove more or less similar to the groove usually provided in casks,though the holding face or chine of the groove instead of being on theslant as is usual with casks may if desired be perpendicular or nearlyso to the axis of the cask. I form the coveror head of a size to justpass the rim or chine of this groove and upon the head I provide a ringor band of any suitable material, say for example, wrought iron. A

portion or segment of this band say about one-third of it may be screwedor otherwise rigidly secured to the head or in caseof an iron head itmay be a portion of the same metal. The other two-thirds or parts may beof about equal length jointed together with what I may term a rulejoint, but the bolt or pin upon which they turn is fastened into thehead and instead of a hole in the two parts to be joined I provide aslot and instead of making an ordinary halved and butt joint I can if Ilike make the whole joint on the slant like a scarf joint. Each of themovable segments may be provided with one or more oblique slots throughwhich pass bolts or equivalent secured in the head. I furtherprefer toemploy two pawls or detents one for each segment, and to provide theinner periphery of the segment with a suitable number of, say three,notches intoone of head is fixed the segments are forced outward by thelever or other suitable means, so that they. engage with the groove inthe cask, and pawls or detents holding them out in that position. Othermeans such as screw-bolts or the like, may, if preferred, be employedfor this purpose or the bolts in the slots may be screwed home and thusfix the segments. In undoing the segments and freeing the head a levermay be applied against one of the fulcrum blocks and engaged with one ofthe segments so as to relieve the detent which can then be turned out ofthe way, and the same with the other segments. The segments being freed,the pressure of the,lever can be applied in the opposite direction so asto force the segments inward, their free ends rising upon the fixedsegment by reason of these joints also being on an incline, and whenthey are moved sufficiently far inward the head will be free and can belifted out by means of a handle provided for the pur pose.

Although I have described the two movable segments as jointed togetherit would be sufficientif they merely touch provided suitable slots areformed to accommodate holding bolts and the segments are cut away wherenecessary to allow of their free movement. The segments need not overlapunless desired.

In the accompanying drawingsFigure'l'is a view showing the end of a caskfitted with this device. Fig. 2 shows a section of a portion of a caskwith the head and fittings in full; Fig. 3, an alternative form of aportion of the device shown in Figs. .1 and 2, and Fig. 4 is aperspective View of a modification. 7

Like letters represent like parts in all figures.

A is the cask head which may be fitted with a handle A for conveniencein handling it.

B is the fixed portion or segment of the iron or other ring secured inany convenient manner, say by screws or bolts B, to the head A.

C are movable segments of the ring, of which E is the fixed segment,jointed together at O by a suitable joint, preferably in the form of arule-joint, but instead of a round hole and pin fixed in the joint aslot 0 passin g through both parts 0 is employed, through which passes abolt or pin D secured in the head A. The two parts of the joint 0 may'be halved together and butted at 0 like an ordinary rule-joint, but Iprefer to make the two portions overlap at an angle like a scarf joint,as shown at O in Fig. 2 and also in Fig. 1 where a portion of the caskstave is shown broken away to exhibit this feature. Such a joint ispreferable as the whole fitting is necessarily of a rough character, andthe joint can be more easily made and roughly fitted in this manner. Thesegments 0 need not however be jointed together at all, but may be eachadjustably secured to the cask head A by a screw, bolt or equivalent Dpassing through a slot (3 as shown in Fig. 3.

Each segment 0 hasone or more oblique slots E through each of whichextends a bolt or pin F secured in the cask head and havinga head or nutF so that the segment 0 cannot slip off. At the point of meeting ofthesegments 0 and B I prefer to bevel both portions again like scarfjoints as shown at O and B Fig. 1 so that when the ring is collapsed theends of the segments 0 may rise up upon the segment B. The same resultmay be secured by leaving the space between the segments 0 and B so asto allow of the former moving up when the ring is collapsed.

Each segment 0 is provided with a suitable number of notches or ratchetteeth G with which engage pawls or detents H pivoted upon bolts orscrews I to the cask-head A. The object of this arrangement is to retainthe segments G in their expanded condition so as to hold the cask-headfirmly in the cask.

Arecess J, the ends J of which may with advantage be undercut, isprovided in each segment 0 and a fulcrum block K is secured in asuitable position upon the head A.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 4 the two segments 0 are pivoted to thecask head A 'by the screws (3 or equivalent and are provided withguiding slots 'E and headed pins or screws F F. The two segments 0 areconnected together by means of a right and left handed screwed rod M Mof which the portion M is square or of other convenient form to enableit to be turned by means of aspanner or equivalent. The screwed ends Mof rod M M engage with nuts N pivoted as at N to the segments 0. The rodM M is retained in a central position by means of a pin, staple orequivalent 0 fixed to the cask-head and engaging with a groovein the rodM M or the two segments 0 may be adjustably connected togetherin anyother convenient manner.

The operation of the devices shown in Figs. 1', 2, and 3 is asfollows:-Supposing the head to be fixed in the cask as indicated in Fig.1 the end of any suitable lever, say a prizingbar or other suitable ironrod or equivalent, is inserted in the recess J and a purchase beingobtained upon the appropriate fulcrum block K the segment 0 expandedsufficiently to allow the pawl H to be removed from the notch G in whichit has been inserted. The segment 0 is then relieved from pressure andcan be moved as required. A similar operation is conducted with thesecond segment 0 or the releasing of the first segment would probablysufficiently slacken the second to allow of the pawl H being turnedback. The segments being released are pulled inward toward the center ofthe cask-head (to facilitate which any suitable handles, knobs, or holdsmay be provided upon or in the segments) the ends 0 mounting the ends Bof the fixed segmentB, the fitting between the bolt heads F and thesegments 0 being sufficiently loose to allow of this. The diameter ofthe cask-head is sufficiently small to allow it to freely pass into orout of a groove L in the end of the cask so that, when the ring has beencollapsed by the inward movement of Ioo the segments 0, the cask-headcan bewithdrawn from the cask, the fixed segment, whose periphery isshaped to the diameter of the groove L, extending only for aboutone-third of the whole circle being easily withdrawn with the head.

To replace the head it is placed into the groove L the segmentB fittingtherein. Then the prizing-bar or lever is placed against thefulcrum-block K with its end in the recess J of one of the segments 0which is forced out and the pawl H engaged with its appropriate notch Gand a similar operation conducted with reference to the second segment0, the head being then securely fastened in the cask.

The two segments C shown in Fig. 4 are moved outward for engaging withthe groove L or inward for disengaging therewith by means of the screwedrod M M as will be well understood without further description.

I claim-- 1. The combination with a cask or drumhead of a segmentfixedly secured thereto, segthe fixed segment and of each other, each ofsaid movable segments having an inclined I 5 slot, headed bolts securedto the drum-head and passing through said slots and means for moving themovable segments and holding them in-their adjusted positions, as andfor the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I have hereto set my hand before the twosubscribing witnesses.

GEORGE POWELL.

Witnesses:

ALFRED J. BOULT, HARRY B. BRIDGE.

